Rock of Cashel
Blarney Castle
Me in position to kiss the Blarney Stone
I woke up to a phone call from John Nolen at 5:45am. He called to tell me that Rob's flight was ahead of schedule so we were still good for our original departure time of 7am at the flat. They may have arrived early, however due to a problem with the gate, they were stuck on the runway for awhile before they could deplane. Paddy finally arrived at the flat around 7:40 to pick me up and then it was on to Delany's to meet John and the students.
The trip to the Blarney Castle was a long one. We stopped about half way to visit Rock Cashel, which was donated by the King of Munster in 1101 to the church. It was an impressive structure with some great history. As we were walking up the hill for our 40 minute tour it started to rain again. It got pretty cold too, as the winds picked up a bit as well. Typical Ireland weather!
We continued on to the Blarney Castle, arriving at about 12:30. We had three hours to tour the castle, kiss the stone, grab some lunch and do some serious shopping. There was a nice collection of stores that were having great sales.
We have seen a number of castles on our trip thus far, and the Blarney Castle was probably the least impressive. Perhaps because there was no tour guide, no explanation or history about the castle, no real restoration like some of the other castles we have visited. It is definitely a tourist attraction, complete with a camera to take your picture kissing the rock, which they will then sell you for 10 euros at the shop at the bottom of the castle. The climb to the top was a bit challenging, with many spiral staircases and narrow pathways. There were two men at the top, one manning the camera and the other assisting the visitors. If you are unfamiliar with Blarney, you must lay on your back with your upper body over the ledge. You grab onto two metal bars as you arch your back to kiss the stone. The second man is there to hold you steady. Since there were very few tourists, we were able to take some time to shoot some pictures at the top of the castle. Each of the students who were still on top asked for a picture with me, which was nice. I know I've said it before, but I will say it again, we really do have a great group of students on this trip.
The ride back was a long one. We didn't arrive in Dublin until after 7. Earlier in the week two students had asked if they could come to my flat to watch the Steelers game on my laptop (via slingbox and tivo). When we got close to Dublin two other students asked, and before we hit city centre there were another pair asking if they too could come. So, there were six total who got off the bus at my flat, went around the corner for some fish and chips from Burdocks, and watched the Steelers game on my 12 inch laptop until 11pm. They left disappointed as the Steelers lost in overtime.
So, that is why I was too tired to blog last night. Since they stayed late, and since I was up early, I checked my email and headed to bed.
So, those are the highlights from yesterday's adventure. I can't believe my days of riding John Nolans bus are over! The kids have a long week ahead of them, as they leave on Thanksgiving for a four day trip to the western part of Ireland. They will visit St. John's Castle in Limerick, visit the picturesque village of Adare, have a Thanksgiving dinner and spend the first night in Tralee (in county Kerry). Friday will involve a tour of the Dingle Peninsula, a trip to the Louis Mulcahy Pottery Shop, photo opportunity of Slea Head and Basket Island, and a trip on the ferry across the River Shannon. They will spend Friday night at Lahinch, the surfing capital of the world, according to John. (The kids are discovering that they can't believe everything John tells them about the biggest and best in the world being in Ireland. We went over "the biggest suspense bridge in the world" last week. It was about 100 feet long!) Saturday the trip will continue to the Cliff of Moher and the Burren area. They will get to spend Saturday afternoon/night in Galway. They return back to Dublin on Sunday, after a visit to the Clonmacnoise Monastic site. It is a wonderful trip and the kids will enjoy it very much. We have a few people visiting this week (parents, grandparents, friends, etc.) so it is a good week for visitors to see Ireland and spend time with their loved one. I'm glad I got to experience the trip last year.
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